As Johnny Carson used to say, “We’re back!”
My History Channel interview is now, well, history. It did not go well, as you’ll see in this post. The program has been rebranded; the episode will appear as part of the new (and yet to be announced) “The Brands that Build America.” It should air sometime in August. I’ll let you know.
Don’t expect too much from my on-camera performance. I’m hoping they got some usable quotes and use the research from my book draft as background.
Yes, that’s what I’ve been doing over the past month. I’ve completed about 70 pages of manuscript on the history of Bubble Wrap and estimate that it will top out at about 100 pages, before illustrations and bibliography. It focuses on the history of the two inventors, how they got together, and the long path they took in developing a new material. No, it’s not as simple as “hey, let’s make bubbly wallpaper!”
In real life, I’m back to a routine where I won’t be able to do long, in-depth stretches of work on the book for a while. Meanwhile, I plan to fill in with more blog posts from the 1979 series, which is entering a phase about my early days as working in a newspaper.
I’ve been posting these entries in chronological order but not on the days I wrote the originals. For about a week I was back-dating them to their corresponding dates in April. This may have led to some confusion from readers who came to the home page and see the top story hadn’t changed, so they moved on. I hope I’ve cleaned up the mess I left behind.
Meanwhile …
In case you missed it …
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A good time for groundwork, 1979
Reading Time: 2 minutes I had visions of collecting my school essays into books of criticism about how not to write papers. Does that sound like what I’m doing here?
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Puff and fluff, 1979
Reading Time: 2 minutes Any local news editor understands the delicate balance between what readers and advertisers expect and what you think is important.
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In Other Words … Season 2, Episode 19
Reading Time: 2 minutes Many people don’t even have the time or focus for an entire book. The culture of short videos and podcasts has taken over, to our detriment.
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Top-of-the-head inventory, 1979
Reading Time: 2 minutes “Items in Stock” was, in truth, a misnomer. Some were complete, or ready for a final draft or a rewrite. Others were ideas or characters in search of a plot.